Paternity leave offers new dads time away from the workplace to adjust to life with a new baby. Understanding your paternity leave and paternity pay rights may seem a little complicated, but don’t panic, we’ve broken down all the essential paternity leave and paternity pay information to explain all that you need to know.

Life changing experiences don’t come much bigger than becoming a parent, so it’s only natural that when your new addition to the family arrives you want to spend time together. Paternity leave is designed to be taken in those early days after welcoming your new arrival, and enables new dads to enjoy some family time, support their partner, bond with their baby, and adjust to life with their new baby.

If your partner is expecting a baby, you’re adopting a child, or becoming a parent through a surrogate, you may be entitled to paternity leave. Your exact paternity leave and paternity pay entitlements are dependent on your individual circumstances.

From when to tell your employer, to how much you will be paid, find out everything you need to know about paternity leave right here.

What is Paternity Leave?

Statutory Paternity Leave is taken after the birth of the baby, and must be taken within 56 days of the birth.

Employees are typically entitled to either one or two weeks of paternity leave, but some companies offer a more generous paternity leave entitlement which is longer than this.

Paternity leave is offered in addition to annual leave, so paternity leave won’t be deducted from your normal holiday allowance. Employment rights are protected while on paternity leave, so you will continue to accrue annual leave while you’re off.

Paternity leave can be both paid and unpaid.

Paternity Leave Eligibility

So, who is entitled to paternity leave? To claim paternity leave, you must be one of the following:

The child’s father

The husband or partner of the child’s mother

The intended parent – this refers to parents having a child through a surrogate

Paternity Leave if you are Employed:

If you are in either part time or full time employment, you may be entitled to either one or two weeks of paternity leave. You must meet the following requirements to be able to claim statutory paternity leave:

You must have been in employment with your employer continuously for more than 26 weeks before the 15th week before the baby’s due date

You must continue to work for your employer until the date of the baby’s birth

Paternity Leave if you are not Employed:

If you are self-employed, work for an agency or are a contractor, and not employed by a company, you may not be entitled to paternity leave and pay. In this situation you may need to take your time off unpaid, so it could be worth putting aside money each month in the run up to the arrival of your little one to help ease the financial burden of taking paternity leave.

How to claim Paternity Leave

It’s important to follow the correct process to ensure that you are able to take paternity leave. Here’s what you need to do to claim your paternity leave from your employer:

You must inform your employer that you intend to take paternity leave. You must let your employer know at least 15 weeks before your baby’s expected due date.

Let your employer know whether you intend to take one week or two weeks of paternity leave.

You should also give your employer an indication of when you expect your paternity leave to start, for example on the day of the baby’s birth, or the week following the baby’s birth.

At this time you may want to ask your employer about your paternity pay.

You don’t need to provide proof of the pregnancy, but your employer may want you to request your paternity leave and pay in writing. Form SC3 is used to apply for Paternity Leave and Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP), but some employers have their own forms to use instead.

Paternity Pay

So, how much will you be paid during your paternity leave?

During your paternity leave you will be paid the lower of these two amounts:

The information on this website is for general information and it is not intended as, nor should it be considered as a substitute for seeing your own GP, midwife or healthcare professional. You are advised to seek professional medical advice if you have any concerns or suspect you have a medical problem.